BlackBerry CEO John Chen said Monday in an interview that the wireless company will sell its new Passport smartphone for $599 in the U.S.
The price will be for the contract-free version of the new square-screen device, according to The Wall Street Journal. Chen added that the phone should cost around $700 compared to similar devices, such as Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which cost $649 and $749 without a contract, respectively, and Samsung's Galaxy S5, which was sold for $650 in its debut.
"But I figure that to try to get the market interested, we're going to start a little lower than that," Chen said.
Rumors about the Passport first began in March when BlackBerry was reported to be working on a phablet-sized device called Windermere. The phone was then confirmed this summer when BlackBerry showed a few images and features of the device, PC Magazine reported.
The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said the 4.5-inch phone will include a 1,440x1,440 display screen and the company's well-known physical QWERTY keyboard.
Users can look at 60 characters on each line of the screen, thanks to the phone's screen size and high resolution, The Wall Street Journal reported. Chen said the phone's larger screen could be useful to people in the medical field and others who need to do a lot of work on their smartphones. Details have yet to be revealed about other features of the device.
"You really are seeing a more entire picture than seeing a sliver," Chen said, in regards to the screen.
The Passport launch will be BlackBerry's first global launch of a product since that of its BlackBerry 10 phones last year.
The Passport will be revealed on Wednesday, Sept. 24, live in Toronto, London and Dubai at the same time, and will be available in some stores shortly afterwards, PC Magazine reported.
A BlackBerry spokesman said the company will reveal details on the phone's price and availability once the device is officially launched.
